A career soldier, Vincent Lanata was chief of staff in the air force from 1991 to 1994. He is also a great lover of French history.
May, “lovely May,” is not just the month of lilies-of-the-valley, French Labor Day, and joyful revolutions. It also includes an astonishing concentration of dates that have contributed to building French history. For example: in May 987 the death of Louis V led to the dynasty of the Capetians; in May 1429, Joan of Arc wrested Orleans from the English; in May 1618 the wars of religion began; in May 1682 Louis XVI moved into the Château of Versailles; in May 1789 the Estates General convened; in May 1793 the expulsion of the Girodins from the National Assembly unleashed the Terror…

This book is not just a chronological listing of events; it is also an opportunity to revisit French history up to the present, to shed light on some lesser known elements of it, and to reflect on what constitutes the national narrative.